


we start with stars in our eyes

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Meet Cutes [21]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Meet Cute AU, Mentions of past domestic violence, implied but if you know canon doug... then yes, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29416887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: There's a pit of nervousness in her stomach, the kind she can't shake. It's her first date in years and it's a blind date at that. Josh had promised her though that Chimney, despite his name, was a good, kind man. She just has to give love a chance, again.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Meet Cutes [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927492
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	we start with stars in our eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lifeisahighway88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lifeisahighway88/gifts).



Maddie takes a deep breath as she looks at the man sitting across from her, her hands quickly diving beneath the table to dig her nails into her thighs above the material of her long, black dress. She’d already been nervous and she’s entirely certain this is the worst date that he’s probably ever been on, even if he seems too kind to admit it out loud. He’s lovely, he’s been charming all night and he’s made her laugh more than she thought was possible but… it’s her first date in a  _ really _ long time and she doesn’t know if she’s ready for any of what comes with it. If anything comes with it. 

Her husband has been dead for three years, thus ending years of abuse at his hands. She’d been nineteen when she had met him and before that, she’d only ever dated high school boys and Doug was the first  _ man _ she had been on a date with. The very first person she had sat across from in a restaurant and made conversation with and it had been easy to fall in love with him. She was young and he was an escape, a chance of a new and good life and that had been marred by everything that came after.

She hadn’t dated since and she was only sitting in the middle of a restaurant right there and then because Josh had  _ begged _ and promised that this would be good for her. That Chimney, as he liked to be called for a reason her best friend wouldn’t tell her, was perfect for her in every single way possible. And she could see it, she really could but trusting men had proved difficult and it’s easy for Josh to sit her down and tell her that not  _ every _ man is the same because she knows that. She knows not every man is going to be Doug but there’s an inexplicable trauma there that seems to reside in the pit of her stomach whenever she realises someone is flirting with her or whenever someone asks her on a date or suggests the very idea that she ‘move on’. 

That feeling that had been lingering in her stomach now burns in her chest, her heart thumping through muscle memory of times when Doug had been embarrassed by a situation just like this one. She’s an expert at faking it though, forcing a smile that she knows doesn’t reach her eyes when she pulls out her own card and she can hear a hundred apologies and excuses falling from his lips and she’s too scared to look at him and see that darkness in his eyes. 

Josh promised her that he knew Chimney, that the Paramedic was the best friend to one of Josh’s closest friends. He’d spent time with him, heard stories about him, he  _ trusted _ him but Maddie knows deception and she knows how one person can outwardly appear to be one thing and then turn out to be something else. 

Logic tells her that this man she has only known for approximately seventy five minutes of her life, isn’t going to start screaming at her the minute they’re out of the restaurant. She tells herself, as they walk out of there, that this is different. She can trust her best friend and his instincts because right then, she can’t trust her own. Her body feels as though it’s on edge, waiting for a slap or that warning grip her husband would do in an attempt to be subtle. His hand on her hip, squeezing so tight it felt as though she would collapse from how her heart would beat so fast, knowing what was coming. 

There’s no warning hand on her hip, he keeps his distance and when the cool, night air hits her face, she finally dares herself to look up at the man. His cheeks are flush, both of them coming to a pause on the street, his hand coming to the back of his neck as he shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other. He doesn’t seem angry, he doesn’t even appear to be hiding any pent up rage but she still finds herself nervous as she watches him, “I’m so sorry about that, I should probably phone the bank and I’ll pay you back. Or…” He trails off, chewing down on his bottom lip as though he’s pondering something for a second before he takes a deep breath. 

There’s a beat, a moment of silence as she waits for what’s to come, taking a step back as some form of self-preservation as their eyes meet. She wonders what Josh has told Hen and in turn, what Hen has told Chimney because there’s no confusion in his eyes at her movements. Maddie observes him, realising that she does that a lot with the people in her life until she gets to know them. Even when she’d first met Josh, she’d spent time just observing him, mostly when he didn’t know she was looking, trying to decipher whether she could trust this person. She’s done it all night, in the brief moments of silence or pauses between questions or when they were eating. Watching his face carefully as though trying to find any glimpses of what was underneath. She wonders if she’d done that when she was nineteen, if she could have seen what was really lurking beneath the surface. 

“Maybe you… if you wanted…we could… I-I mean you could... give me a second chance? I promise, I’ll get my card sorted. I’ll even bring cash if I have to.” He’s smiling, and it reaches his eyes, his cheeks pink as he chews a little faster on the gum she’d seen him pop in his mouth a few moments before. “Or I can… pay you back and you never have to see me again but for what it’s worth, I had a really nice time tonight and I’d love to do it again. I don’t usually let Hen set me up on a date but… she’s been talking about you for the past two months and now I realise why.” 

Maddie’s shoulders slump as she lets out a gentle laugh, feeling the weight of her own thoughts lift as she nods her head, “I think I’d like that.” Her eyes flicker to his, seeing nothing but joy in them in that second before he reaches his hand out, which she takes after exhaling a long, trembling breath, fighting through her own embarrassment. She hadn’t thought her side of the date had gone that well; Chimney had held up most of the conversation and she’d admitted she was nervous from the beginning and he’d made her feel at ease but it had been so long and she’d laughed a little too loudly at a joke he had told and she’d gotten too lost and comfortable in the moment and stolen a fry from his plate with a grin. 

Maybe Josh was right, maybe it was time to give herself a chance at finding love again. A gentle thumb brushes against the back of her hand and he’s smiling at her, the kind of smile that takes her breath away before she smiles back at him. “I have some cash on me, do you wanna grab a drink and then I will call you an uber, I promise.” It’s easy to nod her head that time, not certain she was ready to say goodbye to him just yet. There was still so much she didn’t know, so many questions unanswered, so many jokes she wanted to hear. “There’s a karaoke bar around the block, do you sing?” 

There’s a lightness as she drops his hand to link her arm through his instead when they walk away from the restaurant, ignoring the echo of Doug’s words in her head that karaoke was cheesy and overrated because she absolutely adored it. “Would you sing a song with me?” She asks, excitement burning through her as they walk, arm in arm towards a bar that will one day, although neither of them know it yet, be  _ their _ place. 

“Absolutely.” Chimney confirms, with a firm nod of his head and a gentle nudge of his hip against hers. Any fear she’d felt dissipates, along with the nervousness that had been in the pit of her stomach all night. Maybe Josh was right, just this once.


End file.
